College football: 10 teams that could be the next Georgia

Oregon will have played both Stanford and Washington before the Ducks travel to Tucson Oct. 27, but both Pac-12 North heavyweights must travel to Eugene. And, though the Cardinal return Heisman Trophy runner-up Bryce Love, he’ll be running behind three new starters on the offensive line, and the Stanford defense lost the top seven tacklers from a unit that was the worst of the David Shaw era, statistically speaking.

Washington is in better shape than Stanford from a returning production standpoint, but Oregon would probably only need to beat one to stay in the hunt for the Pac-12 title and a potential playoff spot. And the Ducks welcome back quite a lot of production from last year, including quarterback Justin Herbert, receivers Dillon Mitchell and Johnny Johnson III, playmaking tight end Jacob Breeland, four starters on the offensive line, and four of the team’s top five tacklers.

Also, unlike a few teams on this list who hope to make a big jump in Year 1 under a completely new coaching staff, new head coach Mario Cristobal has the benefit of having been part of Willie Taggart’s one and only year in Oregon. Though the Ducks have their third head coach in three years, there is at least some familiarity with Cristobal, who was the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach last season.

The former FIU head coach also helped maintain a particularly strong 2018 Oregon recruiting class. The Ducks currently rank No. 15 nationally and second in the Pac-12 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings, just four slots behind USC.